Areandalia
by Vsparkledragon
Summary: This is about a girl who is from a whole other world. Inspired by Eragon and Narnia. Please Review! Ideas are also welcome. You can read all three chapters by switching them out at the top. PLEASE REVIEW! REVIEWS ACTUALLY DO HELP!
1. Chapter 1

_**Areandalia**_

_Side Note: The words that are italicized are thoughts. The bolded is the narration. This is my first book and I hope I will have help from all of you that want to review my stories. Thanks for reading my book!_

**Chapter 1**

**Bookworm. Ghostgirl. Freak. Know-it-all. I've been called these names before, and trust me, my life used to be horrible. There are a lot worse things than not fitting in. Sometimes choosing the right thing or just not thinking straight can have worse consequences than when you've thought it all through and made the "safe" decision. But now, I have a way to escape. You might call it my own world. I've been to plenty. They're called books. Read mine and you might get an idea of how great they can be. And all of this totally true. No lies, I promise.**

**"**Fireai! Where are you? We're gonna be late if you don't hurry up. Did you hear me? Late. Again."

"I'm coming Serelina. Just a sec!" Fireai rushed out of the room. Her clothes were flung on her body, and her bag was over one shoulder. Her books looked like they were about to fall out of the bag. "Race you there!" Fireai yelled as she ran down the hall, blowing past Serelina.

They dodged through corridors, past servants and around marble columns. When they reached the classroom, a bell rang. "Snap!" Fireai muttered under her breath. They were late for class again. Just like Serelina said. They snuck towards their seats. Thankfully, the door was at the back of the classroom, as well as their seats as they sat down, Ms. Iliquea looked up. She apparently didn't notice. _And that's a good thing too because it would have been the fifth time this month. I would've been dead for sure._ The class started and Fireai forgot all about her morning mishap.

*****Lunchtime*****

"Hey Freak-ay! I saw you got into class late this morning. What were you doing? I bet I know. You were probably reading your book. Oh look! She changes colors! Not only does she turn beet red, she can turn grape purple as well." said Allenae.

"Forget it Allenae. Just because you're popular doesn't mean that you can get away with everything." retorted Fireai.

"Oh, but you know I can. Popularity is everything here. And as for you, well, I'll put it nicely. You are just a piece of trash my dad pulled off the street because he felt bad. I mean, what good could an orphan be? Even your own parents didn't want you. Why would anybody else?"

"Just, just, oh, I wish that you would go away!" Fireai was about to cry. _Why even bother fighting her. You know she's right. What good could I be? Why would anybody care about some poor servant girl? _Fireai walked off, to eat her lunch alone.

After lunch, Ms. Iliquea had an announcement. "As head of the teaching department, I am here to announce that rather than a final at the end of the semester, you will be turning in a book. Now, let me finish. You will not be turning in any book, you will be turning in a book that is handwritten by yourselves. The book must be at least one hundred pages and it will be due exactly four months from now. I would suggest that you get started as soon as possible. Writing a book can be a very complicated process."

As soon as classes were over, Fireai headed out to start writing her book.


	2. Chapter 2

_Side Note: I'm sorry if the last chapter was a bit of a letdown. I'm still working on this book, so __please__ tell me if you have any ideas. I'm willing to accept any advice whatsoever._

**Chapter 2**

Fireai was going to run away. She had been going to write her book, but no matter where she went, Allenae or one of her friends was hanging out, just waiting to tease her. _I just can't take it anymore! All they do is tease me. If I don't run away, I will never be able to be myself. Besides, no one is going to miss me. Who would miss a freak who likes to read books? _She ran to her room. Thankfully, nobody was there.

She snatched the two blankets on her bed and spread them on the floor. She grabbed snacks she kept hidden under her bed and threw them on the floor. She pulled out enough clothes for the next week, some stuff from the bathroom, and put them in the blanket too. She tied up the blanket into a bag. She grabbed her schoolbag, which had some papers, pens, pencils, and her favorite books. She attached the blankets to her bag and put it on. Then she climbed out the window. She walked to the corner of the House, which was where she lived. It was more than just a house. It was a mansion. _I need to concentrate on what I'm doing. Not the House._ Then she realized the one tiny detail that she had forgotten: _Where do I run away to?_

Her mind slipped back to the House. The House was massive, and so were its gardens. The gardens contained not only gardens, but also orchards, and pine groves, and vegetable gardens, and the whole area went as far as the eye could see in every direction but one. The entire place was made into a labyrinth by hedges and bushes of varying sizes. The shortest shrubs were only a foot high. The tallest hedges could have passed for trees because they were eight feet tall. But Fireai wasn't looking at anything in the gardens. She was looking in one direction, at one thing. The forest to the west. It was dark and mysterious. Nobody ever went in, mostly because there was a legend about a girl who ad gone in to explore, and never come out. Fireai started walking west, away from home and towards adventure.

When Fireai got close to the forest, she heard a noise like the trees rustling. _It was just a breeze,_ she convinced herself. She closed her eyes and walked in. Nothing happened. _Whew. I thought I was a goner._ And then she heard it again. This time she pinpointed the noise, and it was right over her head. She looked up, and nothing was there. She looked back down, and by her feet was a small squirrel. "Hey there! You are just so adorable! Did you want me to pet you? Hold still little guy." She reached out her hand to the squirrel, and it darted off. She knew she should be looking for a place to sleep, but she ran after it. When it was just barely out of reach, it ran off again. The strange thing was, it continued to do so, and in a pointedly curved path. _You're a curious little fellow aren't you?_ A few hundred yards later, the little squirrel stopped darting around. Fireai let her bag fall to the ground and plopped down next to it. The squirrel started to climb up a tree. Fireai followed it with her eyes. Then it struck her. _The tree is as big around as six of me!_ Then she looked up. The tree was so tall she couldn't see the top. About ten feet up, the squirrel climbed over a lump and disappeared. Curious, Fireai pulled on her pack and began to climb up the tree.

It was strange though. _It's almost like the tree is helping me._ The branches were just the right distance away. At one point, she looked down and slipped, but her hand caught a branch just to the left of where she had been. _That's strange,_ she thought. _I didn't see that branch before._ She swung back over to where she had been and continued climbing. She reached the lump and looked over its edge. There was a hole in the tree, and it was just barely big enough for her to squeeze inside and pull her bag behind her.

Inside, it seemed like it was much, much larger than the inside than it was on the outside. The inside 'floor' was about two feet beneath the ledge on the tree. The 'ceiling' above was another three feet up. The inside looked about twenty feet wide and was round, like the outside of the tree. She looked outside and it was getting close to dusk, so she untied one of the blankets, and hung one up on the knobs that stuck in various places around the 'room'. She grabbed a T-shirt and some sweats and changed. When she had changed, she grabbed a bag of pretzels and some water. When she had finished dinner, she pulled down the blanket over the hole.

Outside, night had come. Between a patch of tree branches was a glimpse of stars. Blanketed in starlight, Fireai fell asleep

Fireai woke up to the sound of birds trilling and sunlight on her face. She opened her eyes and sat up. She yawned, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and grabbed her water bottle. After finishing it off, she ate some cereal. _I have to get more food,_ she thought as she looked at her meager supply. She put the blanket up and changed into some jeans and her painting shirt. She pulled on some socks and tennis shoes. Then she looked down from her perch. _And I HAVE to go to the bathroom!_ She climbed out onto the ledge, pulled both of the blankets over and threw then down to the ground. She clambered down after them. When she got to the ground, she threw both blankets over some low-hanging tree branches, and Voila! Bathroom! When she came back out she saw the little squirrel sitting next to the tree. "Hey little guy! You know what? I need a name for you. Gus? No. Tykel? No. Galineo? No. I know, Squirt! You like your new name, Squirt? She must have imagined it, but she thought that the newly named Squirt actually nodded.

Fireai climbed up into the tree, and began pulling her stuff out of her backpack. When it was empty, she put it on and climbed down. "Hey Squirt, do you know how to get out of here?" Squirt didn't answer. He just ran off. Fireai chased after him, only he didn't stop this time. Along the way, Fireai made a mental list of everything she had to get. _Okay, I need… food, some more blankets, clothes, some decorations would be nice. Maybe some more books and paper. Probably a pot and pan for cooking. And matches. This list sure is long. Alright, I need blankets, clothes, a pot, a pan, matches, books, paper, and decorations._ She had just finished her list when she reached the edge of the forest. She now realized something. The farther she had gone, the more something had felt wrong; like something was missing. She took that last step out of the forest, and it was like whatever had been slowly ebbing away just disappeared. _I can't think about that now. I have to concentrate on not getting caught. If I get caught now, I'm dead for sure._

She began making her way to the House. _First stop: Bedroom._ The window to her bedroom was open, just the way she had left it. However, her bed had new sheets on it, and everything was put away, leaving no trace of the evidence that she had ever left. She ran for the closet and opened the door. From inside she pulled out the blankets from the closet.

She tugged the curtains off their rod from the bathtub. She put those on the blankets too. The clock on the said that it was only nine o'clock, so she had a few hours before classes had a break for lunch. She cleaned her room of everything she needed, and grabbed a few of her favorite things, like her journal and some pictures. She pulled down her luggage and squashed everything inside. She shoved it under the bed where nobody could see it, and then got out of her room and raced to the backdoor of the kitchen. She opened the door and put on an apron and a hairnet, which she had grabbed from the peg next to the door. Then she walked around the kitchen, snatching apples, oranges, hamburger patties, bread, rice, salt packets, sugar packets, cereal boxes, and any other food she could find that wouldn't go bad quickly. She fit the food into one of the two plastic bags that she was carrying. If anybody asked her why she was taking so much food, she simply replied, "Some of the girls wanted a picnic today, so they asked me to get their food." Surprisingly, it worked every time. When the bags were full, she just put them into an old, unused picnic basket she had found and closed the lid. Hefting the basket, she made her way to the back door and removed her kitchen wear and walked outside. She walked toward her bedroom and clambered inside. She pulled out her luggage outside to where she had left her basket. The clock said it was about eleven o'clock, so she had an hour before classes got out. Slowly, she started making her way back to the forest.

When Fireai got to the forest, she was so exhausted that she forgot to wait for Squirt. She just kept walking, and after a few minutes she arrived at her new home. Lacking the energy to pull her stuff any farther, she climbed up to her room and rolled inside. Before she hit the floor, she was asleep.

Fireai woke up to the sound of Squirt chewing on a juicy, green apple. Fireai sta up and looked around. All of her stuff had been moved into her room. Her decorations were all hung up on the walls, the linens were neatly folded with her soap and toilet paper opposite from where she lay. She was covered with a blanket, and her clothes were in perfect piles by her head. The food was neatly displayed against the wall closest to her feet. She grabbed an apple and started eating when she realized, _I didn't move this stuff up here! I left it down on the ground. But if I didn't move it, who did? _Squirt was still eating his apple. _No. There's no way a squirrel could have done this. Is there? _She started making lunch, but for the rest of the day, she didn't let Squirt out of her sight. Squirt didn't do anything unusual. He just climbed around a lot and ate nuts. Dinner that night was a hamburger, some apple juice, and a few cookies for dessert. She got ready for bed, made a quick stop at the bathroom, and went to sleep.

Fireai was up and dressed at the crack of dawn the next morning, literally. She had packed her schoolbag with some food, water, and some bath stuff. She had her hiking boots on, and felt great after a wonderful night's sleep. She climbed down from her new house, and started off. She kept the pace to a brisk walk. She stopped for a break after an hour. She stopped at an open glade, with fruit trees of all kinds, there were peaches, cherries, apples, oranges, lemons, and even some grapefruit. She put her bag down under a peach tree and grabbed a peach. She sat down next to her bag and started eating. She gazed around, amazed at how peaceful and relaxing it was. Her whole life at the House, and the best days had been the last two, while she was separated from civilization. For the first time, she felt she belonged where she was. At the House, she had always felt like an outsider, or the "outcast orphan". _That's what I was, _she insisted to herself._ But now, now I am something… different. This is where I was meant to be. I don't know why, but it is._ Then and there, she decided to find out why she was even still alive. What her purpose was, and what she was supposed to do for the rest of her life. She finished her peach, and continued walking.

Fireai enjoyed this time alone. She was so concentrated on her earlier thoughts, however, that she walked straight into a creek. Underneath her everyday clothes, she had worn a swimsuit. She pulled off her t-shirt and jeans, then pulled out a washcloth and some soap. The creek water was warm, and not cold, as she had expected it to be. The water was about three feet deep, so after her bath Fireai just floated on the water, relaxing after all the stress of the last couple of days. Without meaning to, she floated downstream. The farther she floated, the colder the water got, until she stopped herself on a rock that was jutting out above the water. She looked to her left, and a huge lake spanned before her eyes.

The water was crystal clear, and underneath the still surface, she could see various fish and plants flourishing in bright colors. Around the lake was a sandy beach with pebbles and rocks that glittered and shone in all the colors of the rainbow, including some that she had never seen before. Around the beach, trees leaned over, creating shade and seats above the water. The lake was very deep. _It's almost like a miniature ocean! _She thought. _I can't believe I've never come here before. And to think, while Allenae is slaving over schoolwork all day, I'll be here, relaxing and having fun. I love my life._ With that, she stood up and jumped in. the water was cool, but in a refreshing way. Underwater, she opened her eyes and found that she could see everything.

She was amazed by all she saw. The majority of the fish were about two to three inches wide. She managed to catch one fish, but it squirmed out of her hands and swam to its school. But then its school swam back. They created five moving rings around her, then darted forward and started nibbling at her skin. _That tickles!_ She thought. It tickled so much, she let out a giggle. Before she could stop herself, she took in a deep breath. Only, the breath did not contain air. It turned into one gigantic gulp of water. She gagged, then started to cough, but she was still underwater. She started swimming towards the surface. When she got to the top, she took several shallow breaths mixed in with coughs of water. She let herself be washed up on the beach and lay there, recovering from her near-death experience. After about ten minutes she sat up, waited to stop feeling dizzy, then stood up. She wandered around the beach, picking up shining pebbles and skipping rocks. At about eleven thirty, she climbed back into the stream and started swimming upstream. There were so many plants along the banks that there was no place to walk. When she had reached her starting point, she pulled herself out of the stream.

She used the towel to dry off, put on her T-shirt and sat down to eat lunch. From her bag she pulled out a sandwich, some tortilla chips, a container of honey, a tangerine and three chocolate chip cookies. When she had finished, she pulled out the two empty water bottles she had brought along and filled them with water. Then she put all of her trash into a plastic bag. She packed everything up except for her clothes and her towel; the towel she left to dry on a rock. After everything was done, she walked into the water and started making her way upstream, to find out where all the warm water was coming from.

After a couple of minutes, the water was noticeably warmer. Thankfully, the current was not strong, so she was able to swim with ease. Fireai didn't notice it at first, but, _this water is getting hot!_ Soon, she had to get out and sit on a rock that was barely large enough to crouch on. After she cooled off, she lowered herself, carefully, back into the water. She hurried along, already guessing where the water was coming from. Finally, she reached the source.

It was a hot spring, and small wafts of steam were curling off of the surface of the water. She dipped her hand in, but the water wasn't scalding hot. She jumped in, and at first it burned a bit, but then she got used to it. Fireai discovered that the water was bursting out from several fissures in the bottom of the pool. The water had minerals and gases of some sort though, because the water bubbled and fizzed where water met air. When she came up for a breather, the sun was starting to go down. She headed back to her campsite, floating and relaxing on the way back. When she got back, she dried off and got dressed. She packed up everything and slung her backpack over her shoulders. Then, she started off. Seeing as how she knew where she was going this time, and didn't have to back track or search for water sources, it only took her half an hour to get back to her house. Once home, she changed, made a small fire using the matches and made hamburger meat with potatoes. When she had finished dinner, she cleaned up and went to bed. _Today was…perfect._ She fell asleep with a smile under the ever-watchful eye of Squirt.


	3. Chapter 3

_Side Note: Thanks for reading my book. For those wrote reviews, thank you, they help a lot. If the last chapter was a bit confusing, hopefully this chapter will give some of the answers. ;) I'm sorry that I haven't been writing, but school has kept me pretty busy._

**Chapter 3**

When Fireai woke up, she changed and headed down for breakfast. Breakfast consisted of a large bowl of cereal, a banana, and some apple juice. She had created a compost pile on the other side of the tree, but rather than wasting her time going down and around the tree, she made her way around the tree by clambering around to the other side. When she had reached the compost pile, she dumped the mushy contents of her cereal bowl onto the ground and went back to her room.

Inside, she stood up, put her hands on her hips, and scanned the room. She cleaned up the few things that had been misplaced and resumed looking. It was then that she realized that there was a space where there wasn't anything. It was straight across from the entrance, and two feet above the ground was a small nub that stuck out a few inches. It looked sort of like a branch was growing in the wrong direction, inside rather than outside. Just below it was a dip in the floor, like a shallow bowl.

Suddenly, Squirt was behind her, pushing her feet towards the dip. When she refused to move, he ran around to her front side and started pulling on the laces of her shoes. When she still didn't move, he dashed for the seat, for that was what it appeared to be, and while he running, something in his right forepaw sparkled. He reached the wall, scrambled up, and wedged the sparkling object onto the branch. He scurried back down and she realized it was her ring. When Allenae's father her father had found her, she was wearing it around her neck on a gold chain. But she had always kept in the bottom of her drawer because it got too small for her to wear. She walked over to get the ring off of the nub, but it was stuck. She plopped down and folded her arms. "Squirt!" He looked up. "Come here and get the ring off." Squirt came over, and pulled the ring off with ease. "How did you…" she stopped. Squirt climbed into her lap and put the ring on the middle finger of her right hand. The ring had a purple gem, with words written in some foreign language around it. The gem glowed bright purple, and in the middle a small F that looked like it was made of fire gleamed white. Then it stopped. _That was weird._ She splayed her hand in front of her eyes, waiting for the ring to glow again. After five minutes, nothing happened, so Fireai started to stand up. But she was still sore, she put her hand on the nub to pull herself up, and it twisted.

The next thing she knew, she was falling. A second later she hit the ground. Fireai gasped. She was inside a room about a hundred feet across, and she was on a sort of ledge that spaned the room,. It was about three feet across in the middle where she was standing, but it tapered to just a foot wide on the edges. Very carefully, she lowered herself to her belly and held on. She looked over the side and stifled a scream. There was no bottom. The little bit of light that came through the gap from the trapdoor before it hit the bottom. After she had regained her self-composure, she noticed that there was a ladder, which also seemed to have no end. She thought, _Maybe if I can pull it up, I can throw it up through the trapdoor, and then climb up. Piece of cake. But how do I get it?_ The ladder was attached to two branches attached underneath the bridge. Unfortunately, the branches were about three feet long, far beneath her arm's reach. _Oh great, how am I supposed to get down there?_ She slowly turned sideways, and for a second nearly lost her balance. She lay there, her torso and legs hanging off of either end. With her right arm, she held a firm grip on the ledge. With her left arm, she reached for the ladder, already knowing it was senseless. _The ladder is_ _made of_ _rope with wooden rungs. Maybe if I sat up and hung my legs all the way off the ledge, I could kick it, which would send it flying high enough for me to catch._ Perceiving that it was a futile venture, she worked her way into a sitting position, sitting as close as she dared to the edge. She kicked, but she missed. The second time, she scooted a little farther over the edge, her arms the only thing keeping her steady. Again she missed. _Just a little farther_, she convinced herself. She moved just a fraction of an inch closer, swung her legs, and made contact with the rung. On the backswing, she kicked again, and made it high enough that she could see it swing out from beneath her. _One more kick,_ and it swung up behind her, and she reached for it. Then she was falling. Falling and screaming. After what felt like hours, but was probably mere seconds, she couldn't scream any more. She flailed her arms, reaching out for anything she could use to slow herself down or stop her descent. One minute passed, then another. She had ceased to gain speed and simply fell, reaching for anything, though her mind contained only one thought, _When will I hit the ground?_

Finally, her arm reached what it had been flailing for, the ladder. She stretched both arms in the direction of the ladder, but only her left hand grabbed it. Her descent came to an immediate halt, jarring the muscles in her elbow and shoulder socket. Her arm instantly went numb, and only her clenched fist muscles kept her from falling even farther. She somehow managed to get both hands up to the rung and regain her footing. She looked up to see how far she had fallen. The light above was a miniscule speck, nearly nonexistent. The floor was only a few feet below her. _Wait a minute… how come I can see the floor? There's no way the light could reach down here._ She finally realized that the light's source. On the opposite side of the ladder was the entrance to a large room of some sort. _This is way weird._ She readjusted her grip on the ladder. " Ow!" Her left arm flopped down to her side, but she couldn't move it. Her shoulder was feeling sorer by the minute, but it was her elbow that really hurt. She started to worry because it was starting to swell and turning a dark purple, with blue and yellow on the edges. _At least I can feel my arm now._ _Still, I need to wrap it up. But I need_ _to figure out how_ _to get down first._ She climbed down the last few feet of ladder. When she got to the ground, she ripped off the edge of her t-shirt. Keeping her arm as straight as possible, she bound her arm. _That's much better. And now…_ she turned towards the light, _time to explore._

She walked towards the lighted hallway. She could now see that the light came from glowing rocks on the ceiling. The rocks were carved into complex patterns of knots and curls. She wandered slowly down the hallway, her sneakers padding gently along the dirt floor. At the very end of the hallway, there was a door. Fireai felt as though she was walking through a mist. The glow of the light seemed to stay in the air, and around the door, the air shimmered and sparkled as if the air itself was powdered gold. When she reached the door, she put her hand on the doorknob, turned it, and pushed. The door swung open silently. Inside was a sort of reading room. There was a big comfy leather chair, and it looked like the perfect reading chair. Next to the chair was a small table. On the other side was a tall silver adjustable lamp. She walked over to the chair and flopped down. A yawn escaped her mouth. _All this strangeness has me worn out. I'll just take a short nap, and then I'll find a way out of here_

She laid down sideways on the chair, her head using one chair arm as a pillow and swung her legs over the other. She rolled over and then she felt the weight of a blanket on her. _Where did that come from?_ She looked over at the top of the chair. Squirt was sitting on top, and he was gazing down at her. _Everything just keeps getting weirder and weirder… _She dozed off.

Fireai was in a large room. It reminded her of the cathedrals and palaces that she had read about and seen pictures of in books. The room was gigantic, and the ceilings were hundreds of feet above her. There were archways and columns along the length of the room, making it more of a hallway. Everything was made of marble, including the two thrones at the other end. The light from a glass window shone on the thrones. Suddenly, before her was a myriad of black creatures, shaped like the mythical creatures in legends from her childhood. But these creatures were not the bright, colorful creatures she had always imagined. They were menacing, and they glared at her with empty eyes that glowed with hate from something within. Pawing the ground, snorting and baring their teeth at her, they emanated evil. Then they charged. Suddenly, there was an old man, dressed like a monk standing between her and the beasts. He brandished a sword, and everything vanished. The monk turned around, his eyes sparkling. _"I cannot fight your battles for you, but I can help you through your dreams and thoughts."_

_"Who are you?"_

The mysterious man replied, _"I cannot tell you now, but soon you will know all."_ He disappeared, and Fireai was left alone in blank whiteness. A weight pulled on her right hand. She lifted up a shining sword, with a star sapphire as the pommel stone. The hilt was in the shapes of dragons, unicorns, pegasi, fairies, centaurs, and other mythical creatures. _Like the ones that were trying to kill me. But this sword was meant for good, not evil. _Suddenly, she was on the floor of the little room where she had fallen asleep. _How did I get here?_ Then everything came back to her. _The palace, those creatures, they must have been just some sort of…dream. That man, he was, he was trying to warn me about something. But what?_ She sat back n the chair, and Squirt sat in her lap. Fireai sat there, musing over the dream in her head, while stroking Squirt. _What if… no, there's no way that Squirt could be, but maybe, no, no way! That's impossible. How's a squirrel supposed to protect me? Then again, there is all that weird stuff that was happening. I'm really thirsty. I wish I had some lemonade. _Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something yellow. It was a glass of lemonade. _This is so not real. It must be another dream. But if it is a dream, or if I'm just going crazy, it won't hurt to take a drink._ She picked up the ice cold lemonade. It was delicious.

She put down the glass, and a book was on the stand. The book was dark red and made of leather. It had no title, and the pages were made of some thick, white durable material. She picked it up, and her ring started glowing again. Fireai ignored it. She opened the book, and inside was written:

"There is a legend about a land. The legend says that once, that land was once united against evil. The land was filled with all sorts of creatures, creatures not of this world. There were pegasi, dragons, fairies and naiads. They, along with all the others with whom they lived, flourished. Each species had a home world, but every world was at peace. The inhabitants thrived and there was unity for all. Anybody could travel freely between worlds without fear of harm or danger. Once, two human children found their way into the worlds. After all that they had discovered, they could not bear to leave. They grew up traveling between the worlds, and making friends among the species. When they came of age, they were married. Because of popular vote, they were crowned king and queen, to ensure that order would be kept in the worlds. Everything was perfect, but it could not last. A man from our own world also found his way in. he was a murderer who had attempted to steal the throne of another king. He called himself the "Usurper" and was banished as a madman. When he discovered the doorway, he passed himself off as a poor man who had lost his way. Once he learned of the power and wealth of the king and queen, he was overcome with greed, and at that moment began to strategize against them. He made his way to the palace, and that night he murdered them. Their newborn baby daughter, however, escaped harm. There is a prophecy, told by a centaur, that states that the savior of this land will be another human. A girl, the princess warrior, will save her homeland."

Then the writing ended. There were still hundreds of pages, but the pages were blank. She flipped through the book, seeing if there was something anywhere. There wasn't. she went back to the story, but there was nothing new. "But what happened? Did she win or not?" she was holding the book open to the last page and yelling at it. Abruptly, something appeared on the page. There were words forming, like they were being burned into the page.

"Only one with the faith of a child can save this great nation. You, Fireai are to be the Maid of Fire. Only you can save this great nation. You are their only hope. You will face friends and enemies, but in the end, it will be you against the Usurper."

Fireai dropped the book on the floor. It landed flat, with the front cover on top. The title now clearly showed. "Areandalia? What's that supposed to mean?"

"That is what you're supposed to save. The land of Areandalia."

"Who…who, who said that?" she stuttered. The voice had come out of nowhere.

"Me. Down here." She looked down. "Squirt? But you're a squirrel. Squirrels can't talk."

"Who says I've always been a squirrel?" he retorted. But his lips didn't move.

"How are you talking? I can hear you, but you're not moving, and what do you mean by 'I haven't always been a squirrel'?"

"I can talk telepathically. And I mean that I haven't always been a squirrel. As your guardian, I had to find an animal that wouldn't be noticed. One that could survive, but could be a surveillance system of sorts."

"So… you can shape shift?" she gently sat down on the chair.

"In a way. It's too complicated to explain now, but I'm basically what you would call a guardian angel. I may take whatever form necessary to protect you from danger."

"What danger? The only I've ever faced was in my dreams. And in this book." As she said this, she picked up the book and traced the gold lettering on front. He answered gently, "You never even saw the danger. I made sure of that. But in order to save millions of lives, and the kingdom that is rightfully yours, you will have to face your fears, one by one. You are the only savior of Areandalia."

"Me? But I've never met any of these people. Except you. And I just met you five minutes ago. Why should I risk my life for them?"

"For one thing, they are your people, and you are their ruler. Secondly, you are their only hope. Without you, they will be forced to remain slaves to the Usurper. In Areandalia, time runs differently. It has been centuries in their time, but one century is equivalent to one of our years."

"How long has it been since the takeover?"

"If, by that you mean 'how old am I', you are almost fourteen hundred years old. Your birthday is in three Areandalian days."

"So…"

"Tomorrow. You turn fourteen tomorrow. And so in order for the prophecy to be complete, to prove your right to the throne, you must begin your war against the Usurper today. He must be overthrown, or else the worlds will be torn apart. The worlds have already been separated, and even now, parts of Areandalia are disappearing. They can't survive without you." Fireai sat back and thought about it. She closed her eyes. For the first time in her life, she had felt peace, serenity, belonging. Was she willing to give that up? Then she realized, _No matter what I do, I'll never get to have it back. If I stayed, then I could never face myself, knowing that I deserted thousands of people, just because I didn't want to face my fears. But if I go, I might die. I may never come back. What if I don't win? What if I fail and people are hurt because of my choices? I don't want anyone to get hurt, not even the Usurper. Wait a minute. If the prophecy is true, then I can't die. At least, not until my mission is complete. I hope. Maybe I'm just supposed to start an uprising, and then some long-lost relative of my parents will show up. They would be the heir. Even if I didn't get to rule a kingdom, at least I could save somebody's life. And I would probably be a horrible queen anyway. What do I know about giving orders, or taking care of someone else. For crying out loud, what do I even know about making friends? But… at least I could save someone's life. I'll have done my part, plus I owe it to them. Especially him._ Her gaze rested on Squirt. _Without him I might not even have been able to make this decision. Who knows how many times he's saved me. Still…_ But she had already made her decision. She stood up, folded the blanket and put it on the back of the chair. She turned around and faced Squirt. His eyes gleamed with hope. Her face stern, she asked, "What's your name?" For a second, he didn't respond. He just gaped at her. "M-m-my n-name? My name is Strento. Why?"

"Well Strento," she replied, attempting to look as regal as she could in a T-shirt, shorts and a bandaged elbow, "I've made my decision". She spun back around, a sparkle in her eye and a grin on her face. "I'll do it!"


	4. Chapter 4

_Side Note: This chapter is pretty long, which is why there is so much time in between chapters. I'm sorry for the wait, but it builds up the suspense, right? Anway, thanks for the reviews. As always, they are most welcome. =) And especial thanks goes to Delia Anole for all of their great comments._

_Filler: Fireai just found a whole new world and a squirrel protector named Strento after running away from her home, the House._

**Chapter 4**

"So what do I do now? Is there anything I need to pack? Is there anything I should know? How do we even get to Areandalia?" pestered Fireai.

"Just wait a minute, hold your horses. First, lunch. Anything you wish to eat or drink will appear on the table." Fireai thought about what she wanted. _It's been forever since I had anything warm to eat, like baked chicken legs. And nice, cold can of orange soda would be nice too._ There upon the table appeared exactly what she wanted, and everything was on glass dinnerware, with silver etching and gemstone flowers. The silverware was made of real silver and lined with diamond. Even the can of orange soda was gold with topaz etchings. "It almost looks too good to eat. Almost." She dug in.

"Now that we're finished, what now? How do get to Areandalia? Do we have to say some magic words or what?"

"Only you will be going to Areandalia. I will only be present there through your mind."

"You mean, I have to go alone?" her voice shook a little as she spoke.

"Yes, but there is something that can help you. When you arrive, do not go into the center of town. The evil that is seperating the worlds will always start in the middle. You will only find friends that you can trust on the farthest edges of the world. Once you meet someone you can trust, show them the ring. The people will know what to do. Once you have been prepared, you will go to face the evil."

"But-"

"No. Ask no more questions. You will find all your answers in the book."

"It ended. There wasn't anything else. I checked." She looked up, but Strento was gone. "Strento? Where are you? I can't do this on my own." Involuntarily, she began to cry. She curled up, the tears rolling down her cheeks. Everyone keptng her. Why did she always have to be alone? After a few minutes, she wiped her eyes and uncurled. She ttok a deep breath. She picked up the book and opened it. _He said my answers would be in here, and I have to trust him._ She flipped to the page where the writing ended. Still nothing. But on the next page, words were forming. It looked like water was flowing over the material and burning letters into it. Fireai's eyes grew wide with excitement. There was a message that she knew was exclusively for her eyes.

"You, Fire Maid, must save the worlds of Areandalia. In order to save them, you will have to" and the writing ended. She waited, but nothing happened. "What am I supposed to do?" she yelled at the book. She could feel he tears welling up again. _No. If I cry again, I won't be able to stop. Then what good will I be?_ She quickly regained her composure. She stared at the page. Nothing changed. _Maybe it's like a normal book, and that ws the end of the chapter._ She turned the page. _Pegastia_ was written at the top of the page in fanciful lettering.

Underneath wasthe start of a story about creatures that looked like horses, but had wings to fly. Confused, Fireai read on, but soon everything besme cler.. While reading the story, Fireai felt that she was a part of the tale. She felt the ground under her feet as she galloped for victory, and the airwhoshing past as she took her first flight of freedom. Then came the Usurper. Soon everything reeked of death, and the lives of the creatures she had become one with went from bad to worse. Their children were used, and sometimes even sold, as packhorses to other worlds. The strongest were kept in factories, providing the energy for vastly huge machines. The sickly and old were left to themselves, whether to starve or to die. in such a bleak world, there was only one glimmer of hope. The Child Star, the Fire Maid. The daughter of their most beloved king and queen.

And that was it.

_I don't understand. How am I supposed to help these people if i'm here, and they're a whole other universe away? _Then a thought occured to her that was not her own. _I'm supposed to finish it._ The table proffered a pencil. She picked it up and closed her eyes in silent thanks to Strento. She opened them and got ready to write. She tried to write. She woukld write a sentence, then erase it. How was she, a fourteen year old girl, supposed to save a universe with pen and paper? Suddenly she got tired. She stretched her arms and yawned. She blinked her eyes lazily. "What's...happening...to me?" her words were slurred, as were her thoughts. _I have to...finish. Yeah, finish... what am I... supposed to... finish?_ She yawned again. The pencil and book slipped from her hands, landing on the floor. She curled up, hugging her knees. _No I...I-I- . I need to stay... _"Awake." she murmured.

She dreamed a purple sparkling mist surrounded her and lifted her from the chair. The purple was the same as the ring on her hand, which glowed. Surrounded in mist, she was carried away, she knew not where. It softly deposited her on grass in a field nest to a dirt path. Then the mist dissolved.

Fireai smelled flowers and grass. She rolled over and she heard the grass crunch beneath her. Her shock blue eyes popped open. She was laying down in grass, and lots of it. She sat up. A couple of feet away was a dirt path. Exactly like her dream. But in her dream, she had seen everything from an outside view, she had seen herself. _What dream was I having? Maybe I was recognizing my homeland. Well, whatever it was, at least I'm here safely._

She stood up and cleaned herself up, swiping the grass from her clothes and combing it out of her chocolate-brown curls. She examined the path. _  
Which way now?_ There were hoof prints and cart trails. All of them were heading west. _Strento said that I would find the friends I need in those closest to the borders. Aka, less people. Which means,_ she turned towards the rising sun. _East._ She started walking briskly, enjoying her time in this beautiful place. Trees, flowers, and grass grew everywhere. But the farther she went, the more uncomfortable she became. There were no animals, no insects, not even a spider or flies. And ther was that feeling, the feeling that she was going the wrong way, that she needed to go towards the people, not away from them. She shouldn't go alone. At least she should go to the city, find help, and then find a way to save whoever lived here. But she needed to protect herself first. She should lay in the grass, hiding in the taller grasses until someone came along. _But that could take forever. I need to help these people now! I'm their only hope._ On this note, she sped up her pace, finally breaking into a run. her feet pounded the ground, her body running from both the evil behind her and the evil invading her mind.

When she began slowing, she realized that she was in a completely new environment. The land had transformed from a place of peace, joy, happiness, and serenity. It was now a desolate wasteland. She was surrounded by black ashen dirt. the only plants were gigantic cacti with thorns several inches long. there were also plants with stickers on them, with points that almost gleamed with sharpness. The reek of death was in the air. The air seemed to echo with one word, ALONE.

She was nearly overcome with never wanted this. She never asked to be alone, without friends, and in a land where she must spend every minute waiting and watching for the lurking danger. She no longer confidently strode along without a care in the world. she shuffled her feet, crossing her arms with her head bent down, though her eyes flicked in every direction, searching for the danger that seemed to emminate from the air, supressing and crushing her, causing her to feel claustrophobic and vulnerable, her brightly colored clothes standing out against the brown-black hues of the desert. She heard something behind her. She spun around. There it was again. A sort of crunching noise. She started walking backwards, on the alert for anything. She backed up, and ran into something warm, with... _feathers?_ the teachers at the house wouuld've been very proud of her, because she was very lady-like. She fainted.

Fireai came to in an adobe hut. She was covered in thick woven blankets, and the bed was a straw mattress. She was wondering how she got there when she remembered everything. She squeezed her eyes shut. The memories remained. "Hello? Are you alright? Are you awake?" She stiffened. Who was behind her? She was facing the wall, but there was no shadow. _Is it a monster? _"Please don't be dead." Whoever was behind her was definetely a girl. And worried. It didn't sound like a monster. _But then again, it could just have a fake voice._ Well, if it was a monster, it was going to eat her anyway. She rolled over, and the most beautiful horse she had ever seen stood before her. It was black, and its coat shone. The horse's eyes were emerald green, eith thick long lashes. Its mane was put to one side, and had purple blue streaks. It looked relieved and heaved a sigh. "Thank goodness you're alive. Ithought you might've been dead. I had watched you find your way to my hut, and I didn't mean to scare you. When you crumpled, I freaked out. When you didn't wake up, I managed to calm down enough to get you inside. What are you?" Fireai' mind was spinning. She was still a bit woozy from her faint. She was trying to register everything she had just been told, but the horse had said it very quickly, and the question threw her off. She slowly answered, "I'm Fireai. And I'm a human. Who are you, and where am I?"

"A-a-a _human?_ Do you mean to say that you're a human girl? Oh, yes, um uh, I'm Emirta. You're in my hut, which is basically in the middle of nowhere. Don't worry, you'll be safe here. Only a few people come here, and they're friends. They're just brave enought to actually live in the city with all that evil."

"What do you mean? And how did a horse end up in a place like this? I mean, I thought only three other humans had gotten here. Not animals."

Emirta paused for a second, and then replied, "Well, you're right. Only three, now four, humans have ever come here. And animals have never come here, at least, not the kind of animals you're thinking of. I'm not a horse. I have wings, see?" At this, she spread magnificent feathery purple wings. Only the very tips of her amazingly large wingspan were stark white. Fireai's eyes opened wide. In front of her was a beautiful pegasus. A real pegasus, not one that she was imaging, or that she was seeing in a dream. She gapedand whispered, "You're a real pegasus."

"What?" inquired Emirta, "What did you say?"

"You're a pegasus."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, well, you. A horse with wings. Sort of. But in my world, ususally they're just in fairytales, and very few even at that."

"Would that mean that pegasus is my species?"

"I guess so...What are pegasi usually called here?"

"Nothing." Emirta replied forlornly. "Once, everyone knew, and each world was named after its main species. But after the Usurper took over, he tried to make each species forget their past. He wanteed them to become dumb animals that he could control. Naive as we were, we went along with him, having no way to escape but death, and no knowledge of how to defeat him. We simply had to wait for our heroine to come. Which, by your ring, would mean that we've been waiting for you. So you're saying that if I wre to just walk into town, as me, I probably wouldn't survive to the end of the day."

"I suppose so. But I don't know why you would even think of going there."

"Why not?" Fireai sat up, eager for more information. "What is it about the city that's so horrible? It seems like this would be a much worse place to live in."

"It seems that way at first, but that's only if you've never been to the city. There, we're enslaved,and used as packhorses. We have food rationings, but there always seems to be a little bit left over. There is plenty of room to live comfortably. There's always plenty of everything, and no horse- I mean, pegasus- is ever in need of anything because there's always enough. But that just masks the fact that they're all slaves. They're used as transportation, and their feathers are used to make beds and quilts. The Usurper's minions try to make the others believe that short manes and tails are fashionable so that he can used the hair to make the finest threads and yarn. The worst part is that they don't know." Both Fireai and Emirta were groing sullen, but still Emirta continued. "They happily go along with everything, completely ignorant about what torture they're going through. Never having the chance to run, or play, or, or, just have fun. Their lives, even as small children, are spent working, and they think it's a paradise."

"So why are you here? How come you aren't with them?"

"There's a group of us. I'm the only one that lives outside of the city. When the others who live in town accidentally get forced out or hurt, they come here to hide or get away from the evil if they feel they're too weak to resist. Also, once every couple of weeks, two or three come here to bring supplies, like food or blankets. Sometimes herbs to use as medicine."

"But why are you living here, and not someone else?"

"Because I'm supposed to be dead. When I finally realized what a horrible place I was living in, I staged my death. There were a minute few whom I had found had also discovered the truth. We made our plans, and the next day, I 'died'. But my body was never found because of all the rubble. It hasn't been easy living here, but you learn to appreciste and conserve everything."

"Wow, that's amazing. To give up a nearly perfect life for this," she gestured around at the room, and spoke with a hint of awe in her voice. Emirta seemed to get edgy and uncomfortable. She started shifting from hoof to hoof. "Actually, um, well, uh that's not why I left. I didn't mean for it to seem as though I were such a good person.  
The reason I left is because I ran away." She heaved a huge sigh, then started pacing. "When I realized how horrible everything was, I got scared and ran away. When I had calmed down I went back, but I was too edgy and was putting myself and all the people I truly trusted at risk. We had a meeting where we planned my fake death. And while everyone else believed I was dead, I could run from my fears and hide like the coward I am. I've just been trying to repay my debt by taking care of those who have taken care of me.'

"Oh." Fireai just stared at Emirta, then her gaze seemed to shift off into the distance.

"I knew I shouldn't have told you anything. Now you're going to think that I'm just a big coward, and you won't trust me with anything because I might freak out and blab everything so that I won't get in trouble." Emirta was talking more to herself than Fireai, but Fireai had been shocked out of her trance. "Oh no, no that's not it at all. I was just thinking about why I'm here. Because in reality I'm no better than you." She stood up and hugged Emirta's neck. "I used to live at this place called the House. But there, no one liked me. During lunch, I always had to sit by myself, and never got to do anything with anyone else. But rather than stay and face up to them, I ran away. And when I went back, I snuck in like a thief to get my belongings, steal from the kitchens, and leave.

"Then I came here. It was on accident, but the fact is, I came." Fireai stood back and looked straight into Emirta's eyes. "We're both here, and that's all that matters. Maybe we're both here for a reason. Maybe it wasn't just chance that we found each other. If we work really hard, this could be our chance to redeem ourselves." Fireai put her fists on her hips and her chin rose. "But first, we need a plan."

Fireai sat at the table, staring off into space and thinking about the plan. She had stayed for a week already, but there were still a few days left until the messengers arrived. The plan was simple; since she couldn't appear as a human, Fireai would pretend to be a satyr. While she pretended to be a newcomer, Emirta would pretend to be Atrime, who was Emirta's alias for when someone was hurt or sick. They would make their way to the center of town, which was a pedestal with a rock on top. They would smash the rock, and then dhe could leave. For the past week, she had beenworking on learning the flute, because every satyr knew how to. She also had to practice walking on very thin stilts with polished black rocks carved to look like hooves on bottom. She came out of her reverie and started on lunch. She started a fire and put a pot of water to boil. While she was waiting, she picked up her makeshift crochet hook and a ball of baby blue yarn. She worked on a cap that she was going to have to wear in town to cover the fact that she didn't have any horns. When the water started to boil, she put down her work and put in some rice. Then she made her way to the one chair in the room, which had her stilts hanging on it. The fake hooves had each been glued to the bottom of a small piece os wooden post. Each post had a padded footrest and straps that tied to her legs up to the calf. Over this went her fake goat legs, which were a thick mesh with threads of yarn poking through each chink. The only parts left to finish were the bottom edges where they met her "hooves" and the waist. These were the hardest parts and had been left for last because she needed to have it flow seemlessly without bunching up. For now, a string went through some loops on the top. Just as she got finish getting dressed, Emirta trotted in. "Here, these are for lunch." She put a bag of vegetables on the table with her wing. Fireai pulled out some corn, carrots and potatoes. She diced them up and put them in the pot with the rice and covered it. She sighed and walked back. She turned to sit down, lost her balnce, and fell. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just lost my balance." she muttered. She pulled herself up and sat down, sulking. Emirta nudged the flute towards her, unaware of Fireai's grumpy mood. "You should probably start practicing."

"Why?" Fireai retorted.

"You know why. We have to make absolutely sure that no one recognizes you. Otherwise everything we've done would all be a waste."

"I know, but there's nothing to do around here. All I do is clean, and get ready."

Emirta nuzzled Fireai's face and wrapped around both of them. "I know it's been hard and that there's been a lot of stress, but you're not the only one going through this.  
At night, I can barely sleep because I'm thinking about every aspect of everything. And I hate it that I feel so helpless. No matter what we do it's all going to be up to chance whether everything works out. All we can do is prepare as best we can and hope."

"Wow. I thought I was supposed to be the one helping you." She gave a half-laugh. "But it looks like you're the not the only one who needs help." She smiled a little smile. "Here I am, gettin upset over a little bit of stress and work, when I'm going to have to face the most evil in the world. Sometimes I amaze myself." She shifted her feet and winced. "These things are worse than stilettos."

"What are stilettos? And you're going to hve to get used to them anyway if you don't want to get caught."

"Stilettos are a tyoe of knife that's long and skinny. But it's also a type of human shoe that has a long and skinny heel. They're very hard to walk on and are usually painful after a while."

"Oh, I get it. But I think you should just leave them on until all this is over because our messenger should be arriving tomorrow or the day after."

"But," Fireai replied.

"No. You have to wear them. I never told them I had someone with me who wouldbe able to help. They don't even know that you're supposed to be a faun."

"Oh, alright, but tonight I'm going to have to take them off so that I can finish sowing. And please tell me you have a story about why I just randomly showed up in the middle of nowhere without ever having been to a normal city."

"Well..."

"Okay, so we need to come up with that too." Fireai went and poured the contents of the now simmering pot into two wooden bowls, one larger than the other. She also grabbed a spoon for herself. She set up the bowls and the spoon, then sat down to eat. She blew on the soup to cool it off and took a sip. It was delicious, just the way homemade cooking should taste. The food at the House never tasted this good, probably beacause their food was cooed en masse. Emirta cautiously sipped from her bowl by tipping it with her teeth until the soup poured into her mouth. Fireai was filled after the first servings, but Emirta drank the rest of the pot.

When they were done, they put everything back. Fireai got out her stick needle and pieces of brown yarn. She started on the top of her pants, since this would take the most concentration, and she would have to wear them to make sure everything would fit right anyway. One by one, she knotted each piece of yarn to the small bit of space between the metal chinks. To cover every inch of metal, she had to tie about ten strings to each ring. The rings were only about one centimeter in diameter, so she sat there for hours. When it came time for dinner, she made more rice, but added some spices she had found growing nearby. She peeled the leftover vegetables, and set them aside. She repeated the same process as before and then went back to work. Finally, close to midnight, she finished. She stood up and looked at her handiwork. She put the pants on and, even though there wasn't any mirror to see herself in, she almost had a hard time believing she wasn't a faun.

"I'm done." She breathed. Suddenly, she was overcome with a wave of exhaustion. She stretched and yawned, then sat down on the bed. She stared at Emirta, who had gone to sleep hours ago. Fireai snuggled under the covers and whispered "Goodnight," then fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

_Side Note:____I am sorry it took so long for this chapter to appear. So sorry to keep you waiting, but here it is, mostly. I don't even know how long to the finish, so I'm in just as much suspense as you! =)_

**Chapter 5**

The next morning Fireai woke because the sun was on her eyes. She blinked and snuggled deeper under the covers. _My legs feel stiff._ She shifted them under the covers. _These blankets sure are heavy. _Then she remembered and groaned. _What time is it?_ Fireai heard Emirta walking around outside. _I guess I should get up._ She sat up and yawned. Then she got up, made the bed, and started on making something to eat. She was already almost done making her cap when she heard Emirta coming closer to the house. There was somebody with her, and they were talking. She hurriedly finished and cut the yarn. She snuck over to the door and put the cap on. She listened to the conversation. "Thank you for coming so fast."

"You're welcome. Soo… What is she?"

"A faun. I would've let you see her, but she was still asleep last time I checked. She was nervous about meeting people, so I think she might've stayed up a little too late last night."

"Oh, alright."

"Umm, Galikio, I don't think that we will be able to leave today."

"Why ever not? We'll still have time to get there before dark."

"Well, yes but uh… well,"

Fireai walked out into the light. "Oh."

"What?" asked Fireai. Embarrassed by his gawking, she began to get self-conscious and fiddling with her fingers. Her gaze switched to Emirta, who was also looking at Galikio.

"Uh, Fireai, I never told you this, but, er," stammered Emirta. She was cut off by Galikio. "You look just like the queen." Fireai was shocked. "I do? How do you know?"

"See here," he pulled out a locket the size of a pocket watch and opened it. "This is the portrait of the king and queen." The king looked very regal, but there was a sparkle in his eyes which suggested that he was not usually so formal. But it was the queen's picture which captured Fireai's attention. She felt like she was looking into a mirror of the future. "How did you get this?"

"I've almost always had it. It was handed down to the eldest child for generations." Fireai looked at Galikio. He was a faun, and had blonde hair with dark blue highlights. He seemed a bit tall for his age, but she didn't know what their life spans or usual height was. "Why can't we leave today?'

"What with you looking so much like the queen, we'll never be able to get you past the guards. We will simply have to spend the rest of the day getting you disguised," stated Emirta.

"Oh." Fireai was unhappy at the thought of more preparation. "Why couldn't we have done this before? It would've been easier, don't you think?"

Emirta answered first, "There are two reasons. First of all, we have to put your hair in a style that is very complicated, even with someone with hands to do, and I don't have any hands. Also, you're going to need a faun's magic in the rest of your disguise." She glanced at Galikio, and seemed to be choosing her words with care, "And although you look like a faun, your appearance in the way of fashion is not in line with the fashions here. You would stick out like a sore thumb.

"So we essentially need you to look as normal as possible. Some of it we can fix tonight, like the clothes, but we shall have to leave the rest until tomorrow when my sister arrives."

"You have a sister?" to Fireai, Galikio seemed the type of faun who had been an only child. "A twin sister actually. She was born first, but I was allowed to bring this locket because Emirta said to."

"Ah. So what's in the cart behind you?" The cart was filled with lumps covered in a potato-sack-type of material. Galikio walked over and untied the ropes holding it down. Then he lifted the sheet, and underneath were piles of plants, clothes, and other random items. 'Why were they covered up? There's nothing illegal in there, right?"

"No! Of course not. But if the guards had checked my cart and seen all these provisions, and other things like this box of disguises," as he said this, he lifted a wooden box out and started heading for the hut "They never would have let me out of the city. I told them I was taking out the trash, and this tarp was keeping in the smells. He let me through, and voila! Here I am!" He dropped the box into her arms and left to get another one. "Oh." Fireai walked inside and put the box on the table. "I guess we're unpacking."

The three of them sat- or in Emirta's case, stood- around the table. Fireai put down her finished glass of ice-cold watermelon juice. Everything had been unpacked and was sitting in various places around the house. They had moved all the furniture, including the bed, outside and were now watching the sun go down. Everything was quiet, and Fireai new she should be relaxing because there was nothing left to do, but she just couldn't. Maybe it was how quiet it had become. There was not even wind or the sound of things shifting. Maybe it was the way Galikio had been staring at her all day. She would be arranging something and turn around to have him staring at her. Then he would look away, like he was ashamed. The first couple o times, she thought maybe he was just trying to figure out why she looked so much like the royal couple if she was a faun. But after that, he had become very disturbing. What had made her really nervous was that he never spoke to her, and that he had this look in his eyes, as though he were trying to absorb everything about her with his eyes. She had a feeling she knew what this meant.

In the love stories she had read, the girl was always innocently unaware of the boy's feelings. But what happens if the girl already knows? What would happen if someone else was in her shoes? She knew Allenae and the other girls would start flirting, but what would Fireai do? Besides, if there was one thing she knew, it was that she didn't have feelings for Galikio. Fireai slowly scanned the horizon, ending on Emirta. Here was someone she could trust, because Emirta was in the same boat as herself. Emirta was a friend, but, her eyes swing over to Galikio. For once he wasn't staring at her. Fireai watched him sit there as blank as a board until she noticed the hard line of his jaw as he clenched it. No, he was not to be trusted. Fireai didn't really know why, but something, she didn't know what exactly, but something said that he couldn't be trusted, something under all the friendliness and assurances. Fireai sat there between the two, friend on one side, enemy on the other.

That night, Fireai was last to fall asleep.

As she lay there on her bed of blankets, Fireai watched the two separate moons cross each other's paths across the sky. The first time she had seen the two moons, each on opposite sides of the horizons, she had thought she was going crazy, or that she was seeing two different times at once. Then she realized seeing not two different times, but two different moons. One was blue that changed to green in certain lights. The other was an orangey pink, like the clouds and sky at dawn. When they crossed, their glows mingled into a rainbow of colors. She could imagine that this is what it would look like if heaven and earth ever met. This thought about clashing brought Fireai's mind back to the present and her dilemma with Galikio. What does one do if a boy has a crush on her, but she barely knows him? What does one do if they may never be friends?

Fireai woke in the chill of the predawn. The grey-ish blue of the sky slowly turned to orange and then to yellow as the sun rose. Just before it breached the horizon, the sun reflected off of the ground and made the grains of sand sparkle. Meanwhile, the still figures of cacti and thorned brush marred the scene. But there was still a sense of beauty in seeing the glowing ground and sharp black angles. She looked at the two creatures still asleep in front of her. She could still see the sharp angles on Galikio's fair skin with the sharp blue streaks on his fair hair standing out even more than prominently than usual. Then she looked at Emirta, who was more darkly colored and hard to see, but the sheen of her fur still outlined her soft curves and easy breathing.

Fireai mulled the differences over in her mind again. Back at the House, Galikio would have been a very handsome boy. He was everything the girls ever seemed to dream of; bold, daring, good-looking, smart, strong. Perfect. Then the realization hit her. She distrusted him because he would have fit in at the House. Maybe she was just being fussy. He couldn't possibly know anyone from the House, much less know that she came from a different world. He probably wasn't anything like the other guys she had known. They had been either aloof and rude or else abusive and nasty. Either way, she didn't want to have anything to do with them. _But who said he was anything like them? _Maybe she was just being overly sensitive. _Well, I guess we're going to find out._

Fireai woke up the other two. They all dusted their sheets as best they could and rolled them up. "When does your sister get here?" asked Fireai. Galikio looked at the sun. "Probably about an hour. Then we can get to work on you."

"Okay. I'll go get something to make for breakfast then." Fireai tried to sound as cheery as possible to hide her fear. The way Galikio had said "Then we can get to work on you" made it sound menacing, like he was waiting to set the perfect trap. She tried to calm herself down as she looked for the grapes and oranges and other fruits, like these huge round melons that Galikio had called honeydew. It looked very appetizing, but they had grown warm during Galikio's trip and so had been put to cool during the night. She finally found some limes, bananas, and sgrashis. They still looked amazingly delicious, but Galikio's words came back to her. She immediately out down the basket and weighed the chances that if the food was cooked and Galikio ate it, that they would be fine. She picked up the basket again and turned to walk out but ran into Emirta. Fireai stifled a gasp, "Emirta you scared me!"

"Sorry. I came to see what was taking you so long." Fireai looked at the basket, then back at Emirta, trying to convey her dilemma. Emirta nodded her head towards the back door and then walked back outside. Fireai followed. Emirta started in a whispered voice, "What's wrong?"

"I didn't trust the food."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't trust Galikio. I don't know why, but something seems wrong." Emirta breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, me too. There was something wrong with his story… I know what I it is! I never asked for any special sign like the picture of the king and queen. I never had the chance to give any more of a signal than I had a visitor and would need more supplies."

"How did you manage that? Sending the messages I mean. When you left, it didn't take you very long."

"All I have to do is go to a place on the fringes of the forest. There's a small clearing where I can leave certain patterns of tracks which mean certain things."


End file.
